The 1848 Revolution: The Dawn of the Czech Constitutionalism

Kolumber, David (2024) The 1848 Revolution: The Dawn of the Czech Constitutionalism. In: Fundamental Legal Transformations as a Consequence of the Springtime of Nations (1848). Studies of the Ferenc Mádl Institute, 3 (3). Ferenc Mádl Institute of Comparative Law, Budapest, pp. 69-89. ISBN 9786156356482

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Abstract

The Czech constitutional development can be divided into several relatively separate phases: pre-modern (until 1848), monarchist (1848 to 1918), republican (1918 to 1938), totalitarian (1938 to 1989), transformational (1989 to 1992) and contemporary (since 1992). The present paper intends to deal firstly with the question of pre-modern constitutionalism and the key documents of this period, i.e. the Land Ordinances, Landfrýds, the Czech Confederation and, finally, the General Civil Code, which, given the date of its creation, also contained constitutional material. Each document of the pre-modern era will indicate why they are not yet modern constitutions as understood by recent constitutional law theory. The developments after 1848, triggered by the revolutionary events in many parts of the monarchy, will be discussed in detail. Not only will the constitutional results (individual constitutions and their negations) be analysed, but also the projection of these constitutions into other contexts in which the achievements of the 1848 revolution were fully manifested. The key one from the Czech perspective was the Kroměříž (Kremsier) Draft, which did not come to fruition due to the monarch’s decision to impose another legislative act. Still, the content of this draft foreshadowed future modern constitutional developments, where the draft included a catalogue of fundamental rights containing very progressive rights and freedoms. However, the only tangible consequence of the Kroměříž parliament was the abolition of serfdom. It should be remembered that until 1918 the Czech lands were part of Austria, and the Austrian arrangement influenced the modern conception of the people as the source of power, laid the foundations of modern Czech political life and, in effect, the contemporary form of the Czech judiciary.

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